Gary Player’s 60 years of marriage .
Gary Player and wife Vivienne just celebrated their diamond anniversary – and he says he’s more in love with her than ever
HE WAS 14 years old when he saw her for the first time – he was visiting a friend in one of Johannesburg’s southern suburbs when his mate told him about the pretty girl who lived next door. She happened to be in the back garden of her home at the time and Gary Player hopped onto a rock to look over the wall.
Her name was Vivienne Verwey, she was 13 years old and Gary thought she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. “I’m going to marry her,” he told his friend.
“Naturally he thought I was mad,” Gary says. “But that was the beginning of our fairytale love story. Six years later, on 19 January 1957, I married that pretty girl.”
At the time she was 19 and he was 20. And this year the 81-year-old former world champion golfer reached the greatest milestone of his life, greater than any golf tournament he’s ever won – he and Vivienne (80) recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
The couple renewed their wedding vows on New Year’s Day in Plettenberg Bay in front of their six children and 22 grandchildren.
It was Gary’s idea to celebrate this milestone in their life with a small ceremony.
“I’m more in love with Vivienne than ever,” Gary says.
“What a privilege to have had her in my life for 66 years and to still be together at our age. Vivienne has been an incredible wife to me and an outstanding mother to our children.
“I don’t know of another athlete who’s renewed his vows with the same wife after 60 years. What a privilege!”
WE’RE talking to Gary and Vivienne during a quick visit to Cape Town. When Vivienne opens the hotel room door it’s difficult to believe she’ll soon celebrate her 81st birthday. There’s a tennis match on the TV in the lounge. “I’m mad about sport,” she says, showing us the sports watch on her left wrist. “Gary and I have always been health conscious and that hasn’t changed as we’ve got older. I use this watch to count my steps every day.”
Gary is dressed in his signature black pants and top – the uniform he wore to every tournament and that earned him the nickname the Black Knight.
He started playing golf professionally in 1953 at the age of 17 and Vivienne was already his biggest fan.
“There were three great golfers at that time,” he says. “Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and me. All three of us had phenomenal wives who backed us completely. We could never have been successful without them.”
“My father played golf, so I played too,” Vivienne says as she recalls the early days of their romance. “Gary initially thought golf was a boring sport and preferred rugby and cricket, but he quickly realised
if he wanted to get to know me better he’d have to accompany us to the golf course on weekends.”
Gary’s father had recently given him his first golf club and as the couple got to know each other they developed a shared love of golf. A year after they met they kissed for the first time.
They both remember it as if it were yesterday. Gary was in a hospital in Parktown for a knee operation after a rugby injury. “Vivienne travelled alone all the way from Malvern to visit me. That’s when I knew she was in love with me,” he says. “Before she left for home I asked if I could kiss her.” And so the die was cast. “Gary always had good manners but after that first kiss he became altogether too forward!” Vivienne adds with a smile.
He wanted to marry her then – he was 15 and she 14 – but Vivienne’s father, Jock, was having none of it.
“That man was fierce,” Gary recalls. “When I told him I was going to become the best golfer in the world and marry his daughter, he said I was talking absolute rubbish. Rubbish!”
BUT a few years later the young golfer was already making a name for himself, travelling overseas to take part in tournaments. Gary and Vivienne stayed in touch via letters and telegrams and after a few tournament wins they had enough money to tie the knot – with her father’s blessing.
At that stage Vivienne was a hotshot golfer too. “I was going to take part in trials for Springbok colours but I pulled out because Gary was lonely in America and wanted me to join him.”
Sacrificing her own dreams to support her husband is a decision she’d gladly make again, she says. They had six children – four daughters and two sons, five of them born in six years.
“I got so much joy out of caring for six children, touring the world with Gary and maintaining a beautiful home. I’m an unselfish person. If Gary’s happy, then I’m happy.”
Like any couple, they went through some tough times. It was difficult for Gary to be away from his wife and children so often, sometimes for as long as three months. It meant he missed the birth of his first two children.
“It was a sacrifice I had to make to put food on the table and look after my family,” he says.
“It was hard for me,” Vivienne adds. “Gary only saw his eldest child for the first time when she was three months old. But I had to accept it. At least we flew to where he was soon after the birth of our second child.”
Vivienne, the kids and a nanny would fly to wherever Gary was playing, sometimes with as many as 26 suitcases. “I don’t know how we managed it,” she laughs. “Luckily I love golf and during tournaments I enjoyed walking alongside him to each putt.”
Both knew how important trust was in their marriage.
“Naturally the women ran after him,” Vivienne says. “But I trusted him because I knew he wasn’t that type of man.”
Gary leans forward. “You can’t expect to be the world champion if you’re hanging around in bars and lounges. I grew up very poor and I had a dream of being the best in the world. I practised every day and worked harder than any other athlete to make my dreams a reality.”
Her husband is a wonderful man, Vivienne says. “He still makes me laugh all the time. He brings me flowers often, brings me tea in bed and tells me how much he loves me.”
The couple’s luxury Karoo stud farm is currently on the market for R50 million. They hope to get it sold soon so they can “retire” in Plettenberg Bay, where they’ll be closer to their children and grandchildren. Gary plans to breed thoroughbred horses – another passion of his.
Last year the whole family travelled to Greece for his 81st birthday and they’re planning a family trip to Thailand for Vivienne’s 81st in June this year.
Before we say goodbye Gary jokingly beats his chest. “I don’t want to boast, but I feel 50. I still exercise regularly and eat healthily. I think many 40-yearold men wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.”
“We’re very grateful for the fairytale life we’ve lived,” Vivienne says.
“It’s not been without some problems, but we’ve enjoyed good health and we have a wonderful family. Every day we thank God for the blessings he’s given us.”